• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.23 no.12
• /
• pp.1587-1593
• /
• 2010

Pastures of the Apennines of Central Italy contribute to feed resources of high altitude (above 1,300 m sea level) grazing systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of faecal extract from the yak (Bos grunnienes) as an alternative microbial inoculum to rumen fluid for estimation of digestibility of several forage species. Forage samples produced at high altitude were tested in this study: four legumes (Lathyrus sativus L., Lotus corniculatus L., Onobrychis viciaefolia L. and Trifolium pratense L.), three forbs (Achillea millefolium L., Potentilla reptans L. and Teucrium flavum L.) and one grass (Brachipodyum pinnatum L.) were incubated with yak rumen fluid or faecal extract. A large variability in chemical composition was observed among the species collected. Rumen liquor and faecal samples were collected from adult healthy yak. The $Daisy^{II}$ incubator was used to evaluate the nutrient digestibility of forages using rumen liquor as control and faecal extract as alternative microbial inoculum sources. Filter bags containing samples of browse species were added to the four digestion vessels along with their respective inoculum and then incubated for 48 h and dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral and detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility was determined. There was a significant relationship between estimates, indicating that faecal liquor has the potential to be used instead of rumen fluid for estimation of in vitro digestibility of plants. It is concluded that the $Daisy^{II}$ incubator results are appropriate for the determination of in vitro digestibility of nutrients using faecal liquor to define the potential for adaptation of yak to new pastures.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.154-160
• /
• 2021

Objective: The effect of environmental enrichment on the behaviour of piglets in the nursery phase was evaluated. Methods: A total of 450 hybrid pigs (21 day old), including both females and uncastrated males, weighing approximately 6 kg, were distributed in a completely randomised design with 3 treatments and 3 replicates of 50 animals each. The treatments were: i) pen without environmental enrichment (control), ii) treatment consisting of continuous environmental enrichment (CEE) with rubber balls throughout the experimental period, and iii) treatment consisting of environmental enrichment with washed balls (EEWB) during the whole experimental period which were removed daily for washing. For the behavioural evaluation, 10 animals were randomly selected per replicate. The behavioural assessments were performed once a week, from 8 am to 6 pm, using images captured with a video camera. The data were submitted to non-parametric analyses, the means were compared using the Bonferroni test, and Person's correlations were also calculated. Results: A statistical difference (p = 0.001) was observed in the B5 (playful) behaviour; the animals in the EEWB treatment group had a higher frequency of this behaviour than animals in the control treatment group. The animals in the control group showed a higher frequency of B7 behaviour (lying down) (p = 0.026) than those in the EEWB and CEE treatment groups. The animals in the control group had a higher frequency of the B9 (belly nosing) behaviour than those in the EEWB group (p = 0.015). There was a tendency towards a higher frequency of behaviour B3 (walking in the pen) (p = 0.067) when the animals received the control treatment than treatments EEWB or CEE. Conclusion: The use of an enriching object improved the animal welfare and altered the correlation between the evaluated behaviours compared to the animals that did not have environmental enrichment.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.195-201
• /
• 2001

The OECD acute toxicity guideline has been revised recently to protect animal welfare. The GLP authority of the Ministry of Environment, the National Institute for Environmental Research, recommended GLP laboratories in Korea to ufo the revised acute toxicity guideline. This study was carried out to optimize newly adopted OECD test guideline 420 (TG 420). Bisphenol A was selected for test chemical. Following TG420, Bisphenol A was classified as class 5/unclassified group. The revised TG 420 was very effective test in minimizing animal number and classifying chemicals. The method, however had short-coming in evaluation of test results statistically because the test had no control group, and the test should be stopped when animals were dead at the lowest dose or alive at the highest dose. TG 420 required at Least 20 animals to complete the test, but it could result in producing unused animals that need to sacrifice.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.221-228
• /
• 2022

Cataracts occur commonly in older dogs, which can lead to partial or complete vision loss. In the present study, a 12-year-old male poodle presented for evaluation of ocular sinister (OS) cataract. This study was a clinical case report on the process of performing surgery using phacoemulsification (PHACO) and the problems that arise in patient diagnosed with OS cataract. In the oculus dexter (OD), the artificial eye was inserted because there was no electroretinography (ERG) response. In the OS, the ERG was 51.6 μV, so operation was performed because the visual pathway function remained. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy of the OS showed complete loss of vision as a hypermature cataract and that the lens was hardened. During the cataract surgery using PHACO, visco-elastic agents were used to maintain the shape of the eyeball, and the PHACO procedure took 3.13 minutes. The hardened lens and visco-elastic agents were removed from the eye through PHACO surgery, and the operation was completed by inserting an intraocular lens (IOL). As a result of managing IOP for 2 months after surgery, it remained stable at a maximum of 19 mmHg, and no postoperative ocular hypertension (POH) occurred. Currently, one year has passed since the operation, and the dog maintains its daily life with its left eye without any problems.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.191-203
• /
• 2017

Human eyes and skin are frequently exposed to chemicals accidentally or on purpose due to their external location. Therefore, chemicals are required to undergo the evaluation of the ocular and dermal irritancy for their safe handling and use before release into the market. Draize rabbit eye and skin irritation test developed in 1944, has been a gold standard test which was enlisted as OECD TG 404 and OECD TG 405 but it has been criticized with respect to animal welfare due to invasive and cruel procedure. To replace it, diverse alternatives have been developed: (i) For Draize eye irritation test, organotypic assay, in vitro cytotoxicity-based method, in chemico tests, in silico prediction model, and 3D reconstructed human cornealike epithelium (RhCE); (ii) For Draize skin irritation test, in vitro cytotoxicity-based cell model, and 3D reconstructed human epidermis models (RhE). Of these, RhCE and RhE models are getting spotlight as a promising alternative with a wide applicability domain covering cosmetics and personal care products. In this review, we overviewed the current alternatives to Draize test with a focus on 3D human epithelium models to provide an insight into advancing and widening their utility.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.456-463
• /
• 2019

Micro climatic conditions within the livestock facility are affected by various factors such as ventilation, cooling, heating, insulation and latent and sensible heat generation from animals. In this study, numerical BES method was used to simulate energy flow inside the poultry house. Based on the BES method and THI concept, degree of thermal stress of poultry was evaluated according to the locations in South Korea. Comparison of THI values within the poultry house was also carried out according to the stocking densities to reflect recent animal-welfare issue. Significant decrease in thermal stress of poultry was observed when the stocking density of $30kg/m^2$ was applied in the change of the seasons(p<0.05) however, there was no statistically significant difference in summer season(p>0.05). It meant that installation of proper cooling system is urgently needed. For Iksan city of Jeollabuk-do province, total 252 hours of profit for thermal stress was found according to decrease in the stocking density.

• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
• /
• v.143
• /
• pp.87-118
• /
• 2017

In this paper, I will show several theoretical nonconformities which can be found in P. Singer's concept of human beings. As we know, P. Singer is a well-known animal liberalist. On the one hand, Singer regards man as a subordinate being to nature and on the other, as a transcendent being. This is the first inconsistency of Singer's concept of man. His second inconsistency is related to his position on the power of reason. He believes that it is the product of evolution, and at the same time that it is a power to resist the blindness of evolution. Thirdly, he also exposes the contradictory attitude in evaluation on man's moral ability. Considering these three contradictions, it becomes clear that Singer has failed to prove his claim that there is no qualitative difference between human beings and animals. Despite the popularity of his theory, I believe the theoretical foundation of Singer's animal liberation theory is rather weak. The reason for revealing the weakness of Singer's theory is not to return to the practice of mercilessly handling animals but to show that it is wrong to undermine human dignity under the guise of animal welfare.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.12
• /
• pp.1967-1976
• /
• 2022

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the fecal microbiota of broiler chickens reared in the presence of different shades of light-emitting diode (LED) lights, correlating this information with biochemical and molecular evidence that allowed drawing conclusions on the state of health of the animals. Methods: Overall, the metagenomic approach on fecal samples was associated with evaluations on enzymes involved in the cellular response to oxidative stress: glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase and catalase; while the inflammatory aspect was studied through the dosage of a proinflammatory cytokine, the interleukin 6 (IL-6), and the evaluation of the matrix metalloproteinases 2 (MMP-2) and 9 (MMP-9). Specifically, analysis was performed on distinct groups of chickens respectively raised in the presence of neutral (K = 3,300 to 3,700), cool (K = 5,500 to 6,000), and warm (K = 3,000 to 2,500) LED lightings, and a direct comparison was performed with animals reared with traditional neon lights. Results: The metagenomic analysis highlighted the presence of two most abundant bacterial phyla, the Firmicutes and the Bacteroidetes, with the latter characterized by a greater relative abundance (p<0.05) in the group of animals reared with Neutral LED light. The analysis on the enzymes involved in the antioxidant response showed an effect of the LED light, regardless of the applied shade, of reducing the expression of GPX (p<0.01), although this parameter is not correlated to an effective reduction in the tissue amount of the enzyme. Regarding the inflammatory state, no differences associated with IL-6 and MMP-9 were found; however, is noteworthy the significant reduction of MMP-2 activity in tissue samples obtained from animals subjected to illumination with neutral LED light. Conclusion: This evidence, combined with the metagenomic findings, supports a potential positive effect of neutral LED lighting on animal welfare, although these considerations must be reflected in more targeted biochemical evaluations.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.761-769
• /
• 2022

The Livestock Raw Material Purchase Fund is a policy to increase the export of livestock products by providing loans to exporters of livestock products (including byproducts). The policy started in 2015 and the annual budget is about 26 billion won. However, a quantitative evaluation of policy effects has not yet been made. Therefore, in this study, the economic surplus of the policy was analyzed using the equilibrium displacement model (EDM). From the results of the welfare analysis, from 2016 to 2019, producer surplus in the chicken and duck market increased by KRW 70.9 billion, while consumer surplus decreased by KRW 70 billion. In other words, the total economic surplus of the chicken and duck market increased by about one billion won during the same period due to the increase in export demand according to the policy. Therefore, the Livestock Raw Material Purchase Fund can be viewed as a policy to maintain and increase export demand for export livestock products and to improve the economic surplus of the livestock product market. Also, since the policy is based on loans, it does not place a burden on the government's finances. Therefore, this policy should continue in the future.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.419-428
• /
• 2023

This study examines customer reviews from online stores of Korean vegan fashion brands to determine the qualities that customers value in vegan fashion items. For this purpose, we conducted a case study of online reviews-2,285 reviews were collected and analyzed. The results are as follows: The clothing evaluation criteria for vegan fashion products can be divided into four categories: aesthetics, material characteristics, affordability, and characteristics. This suggests that evaluation standards for vegan fashion items operate at multiple levels. The animal welfare aspect of the product was the most important factor, followed closely by how well the clothes fit. High-quality vegan materials and the use of recycled materials that are environmentally friendly were emphasized. The findings of this study suggest that even for vegan products, stylistic features remain an essential component of fashion items. To understand the main aspects of clothing evaluation criteria in the current vegan fashion market, this study differs from other studies in that it examined online reviews of vegan fashion brands. This comprehensive analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of customer preferences and highlights the importance of ethical considerations alongside style in the evaluation of vegan fashion items, providing valuable insights for the industry. Moving forward, this study is significant in suggesting that vegan fashion brands should develop their products as well as their brands, capitalizing on the demand for ethically conscious and stylish options.